Islamabad police refuse to provide security for NZ series: sources

Police personnel are busy with ongoing census and other activities related to holy month of Ramadan, say sources

By Ahmed Subhan

April 08, 2023

Policemen stand guard outside the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi on September 17, 2021. — AFP

ISLAMABAD: Citing a lack of human resources, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Police have "refused" to provide security for the upcoming New Zealand series, said well-placed sources on Saturday.

"The police does not have resources for providing security," the sources in the police department told Geo News, claiming that it is the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) responsibility to ensure resources for security.

The sources said the police personnel are busy performing their duties at free flour distribution centres, ongoing census, and other activities related to the holy month of Ramadan.

The one-day international (ODI) and T20 international (T20I) series are set to begin on April 14 in Lahore, with three matches — one ODI and two T20Is — taking place in Rawalpindi. The touring teams stay at a hotel in the capital and travel to the Pindi Cricket Stadium for matches.

The visiting side will depart for Pakistan on April 9 after they conclude their T20I series against Sri Lanka.

A similar issue came to the fore during the Pakistan Super League's (PSL) eighth edition in February, when the caretaker Punjab government refused to provide funds for lighting routes in the cities where the matches were set to take place.

PCB Management Committee chairman Najam Sethi then reached out to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and later, the interim government agreed to share the cost of "for lighting routes".